#8

JULY17-23,2009

THE CREATOR
OF AKI
RA
KATSUHI
RO OTOMO
BRI
NGS US LI
VE
ACTI
ONFANTASYI
N
MUSHI
SHI
DONNI
EYEN
I
S
I
P MAN

K20
TAKESHIKANESHI
RO
GOESBEYOND
THEMASK

ALSO I
NSI
DE:
THEBEASTSTALKER
KIMJONGI
LIA
HANSELANDGRETEL
4BIA
OLDPARTNER
NEKO RAMENTAI SHO
CAPENO.7
WRITTENBY
SAMURAIAVENGER
FOREVERENTHRALLED
andmuchmor e.
..
Pr
esent
ingSponsor

Pl
ati
num Gr
ant
or Gol
d

Si
l
ver

Br
onze

Cont
ri
but
or

Scr
eeni
ngSponsor Medi
aPar
tner

Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
i
valofDal
l
as | 3
 Jul
y17 -23,2009

#8

I
P MAN

4 | Asi
anFi
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ivalofDal
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 9Fi
l
m Schedul
e

11THEBEASTSTALKER
Openi
ngNi
ghtFi
l
m

MUSHI
SHI

20 4BIAandDARA
20 THESCREENATKAMCHANOD
21 HANSELANDGRETEL
13KIMJONGILIA 21 SAMURAIAVENGER:THEBLI NDWOLF
Cent
erpi
eceFil
m 22 ICHI
22 K-20
23 NEKO RAMENTAI SHO (
AKAPUSSYSOUP)
23 ALLABOUTDAD
24 CAPENO.7
24 MUSHISHI
25 100
25 881
25 FAMILYINC.
15I
PMAN 26 YOUDON’ TKNOW JACK:THEJACKSOO STORY
26 STORYOFSPI RITS
Cl
osi
ngNi
ghtFi
l
m 27 OLDPARTNER
27 BETWEENTHEFOLDS
28 TANDOORILOVE
28 WRITTENBY
29 FOREVERENTHRALLED
30 KABEI:OURMOTHER
32 ANIMATION:THEILLUSI
ONOFLIFE

HANSELANDGRETEL WRI
TTENBY

THEBEASTSTALKER

Asi
anFi
l
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OnBehal
foft
heEnt
ir
eAFFDBoar
dandourwonder
fulvol
unt
eer
s,

Wel
comet
othe8t
hAnnual
Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
ivalofDal
l
as,AFFDNo.8,andTHANKYOUf
orcomi
ng.

Inthesedif
fi
culteconomicti
mes,wear eespeci
all
ygratefult
hatyouwoul dchoosetospendyourhardearneddoll
arswit
h
us.Atthebeginningoftheyear,AFFDmadeaf i
rm commi tmentt
ost r
etchourowndimini
sheddoll
arsasmuchaspossi bl
e
i
nsuppor tofourpr ogramming,sothatwecouldbr i
ngt hebestAsianandAsi anAmer i
canfi
l
mst oouraudience.Ihope
youfeelwehaveser vedyouwel l
.Thi
syear,AFFD'slineupisthemostpackedwe' vehadinyears.We'r
ebr i
ngi
ngyouan
enti
reweekf i
ll
edt ocapaci
tywithmusiccampyt ooper ati
c,t
earsjoyf
ul,tear
smiserabl
e,cr
eepychil
lsf
orthehotsummer
night
s,famil
ydr amaandDRAMA,i ntenseacti
on,mat hemati
calwonder ,andcat
swhomaker amen.( Ramenmaki ng
catsbroughtt
oyoubyourbel ovedfounderandcat -
loverMyeHoang)

Thisyear
,weal somovedourdatesearl
ieri
ntothesummer .Gi
vingourselveslesstimewaskindofcr
azy,butitgaveus
theopport
unit
yt oposi
ti
onoursel
vesabitbett
erintheint
ernat
ionalf
i
lmf esti
valcalendar
,andmadeitpossi
bleforusto
bri
ngyout heRegionalPremi
ereofWRITTEN BY,onl yashortti
meaf t
eri t
swor l
dpr emi
erei
nNewYor kandr el
easein
Asia.We'r
eextremelyproudt
ogiveouraudiencesuchawonder f
ulopportunit
ytoseet hi
samazi
ngfi
lm att
hesamet ime
astheothersi
deoft heworl
d.

Oner egretwedohavei sthattheabbrevi

atedschedulepreventedusfrom t
aki
nginentr
ies,si
ncewewouldnothavehad
ti
met oevaluatethem properly
.Don'tworry.We'l
lbelookingforentri
esagainfor2010.We'veinvi
tedsomewonderful
entri
esfrom oursist
erfestival
saroundt hecountry
,butweknow we' vemissedsomegr eattal
entst
il
lwai
ti
ngtobe
discover
ed.Ifyou'
reanaspi ri
ngfi
lm makerattendi
ngthisfest
ival
,lookforourcal
l
s.Wewantt oseeyourworkandgive
youachancet oshareit.

Fi
nall
y,whenAFFD choset ofocusonourpr ogrammingthisyear,wemadeadeci siontotakeourspendingawayf r
om
ourpart
ies,gi
ft
s,andevenguesttr
avel.I
twasat oughdecisi
on,butwewant editt
obeal laboutthefil
ms.For
tunat
ely
,we
havefoundsomeamazi ngnew sponsors,i
ncludingourPr esent
ingSponsorChangBeerandMekhongThaiSpi r
it
s,
whosegener oussuppor
thavemadei tpossi
bletogiveeveryoneal otoff
est
ivi
t
yint hisyear
'sfest
ival
.

Thankyout
oal
loursponsor
s,andoncemor
e,t
hankyou,AFFDaudi
ence.Wecoul
dneverdoi
twi
t
houtyou.

Si
ncer
ely
,

Jul
ieHwang
Int
eri
m Execut
iveDi
rect
or
AFFDTHANKS
AFIDallas,AmyLewi sHof l
and,AndySmi t
h,AngelEng,AnnAl exander,AyaMat suda,BlakeEt hridge,Cat heri
neChau,Chi hoMor i
,
Chi
naSt arEnt ertai
nmentGr oup,Chr i
sKowal ske,Chri
sti
neBuc zek,CindySison,Clair
eJ ung,ClaireRowl ands ,Creati
veFormulaLt d.,
DannyJ ochel son,DennisAmi t
h,Dus t
inKas par,Dyl
anMar chetti
,EmperorGr oup,EstherWu,Fai s alToor,Funimation,GemmaSmi th,
GoranT opalovic,GradyHendr ix,JamesFaus t,JamesNav arett
e,J ani
sBur kl
und,J effr
eyYar brough,J iy
oonLi m,J udit
hLee,Kev in
Hef
fernan,Kei thColvin,Kim Smi t
h,KimoSt amboel,KlockworxCo. ,LeeChu,Li l
yMak ,Li
saSt abler,LishanChang,Mar yYac k,Meg
Gould,Mat tMidboe,Mi chaelCook ,Mi
k uKikuchi,Mi
ll
ieSes si
ons,NatNg,NewYor kAs i
anFilm Fes ti
val
,Pet erMartin,SanDiegoAs ian
Fi
lm Foundat i
on/Fest
ival,Sall
y Smolensk i
,Sar ah Harr
is,Seat t
leInt
ernat
ionalFilm Fes t
ival
,Shawn Mahan,Sout hern Methodist
Uni
v er
sity
,St aciCapehar t
,Staybri
dgeSuites,SteveMonr oe,SteveNorwood,SubwayCi nema,Ti moTj ahj
ant o,Ti
ngs onWong,TKLee,
TusaneeJ i
eras ak,Twitchf
il
m.net,Tzel
ingHuang,USAFi l
m Fes ti
val
,VizPict
ures,YenT an

SPECI
ALTHANKSTO OURMEMBERS
JohnSt
orm,St
eveNor
wood,Cr
yst
alDecker
-Nor
wood,Stanl
eyAt
en,Tri
vikram Das
h,J
eff
reyMos
tel
l
er.Ni
col
eHoang,St
ephen
Car
lt
on,ShawnSreedharan

EXTRASPECI ALTHANKSTO OURBENEFACTORS

Jul
i
eHwang,WadeWi
nni
ngham,AmyTurner
,Mar i
saFlor
es,Kri
sti
naMayf
iel
d,Mar
ti
nHer
nandezJ
r,Ri
char
dMar
anvi
l
le,Davi
d
Gibson,Al
ici
aChang,ArtNox
on,MyeHoang
THANKSTO OURVOLUNTEERS
UyenTr
an,Cat
her
ineMorel
lo,Shel
leyLai
,TonyDao,Harl
anJ ohns
on,MikeKell
er,Teri
Tisl
er,Chr
ist
yAnnaVutam,Aij
unCheng,Jul
ie
Ki
m,RoseBanks,Kevi
nYu,DerekTse,Scot
tBori
boun,Angeli
caThomas,ThiTr
an,Br entOzaet
a,Jol
eta,HaydenPhuong,St
even
Tung,Dar
miniKara,ReesaCruz-
Hawk ins

6 | Asi
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Asi
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InDanteLam' sTHEBEASTSTALKER,pr acti
call
yevery
charact
er'
sfaceisweight
eddownbyphysi calscarsand
the int
ense burden ofsome unf
orget
table,traumati
c
event.
Capt ai
nTong ( NicholasTse)i sthe int
ense leaderofa
strikeforceouttonabar arel
y-seencrime-l
ord. AnnGao
(ZhangJi ngchu)i sapr osecuti
ngat tor
neyf acedwi t
ha
mor alandethicaldil
emmabr oughtonbyt hecr i
me- l
ord'
s
act i
viti
es,whil
esheal sodealswi ththegriefofar ecent
,
deepl y per
sonall oss. Hung ( Nick Cheung)handl es
kidnappi ngsforthecr i
me-lor
d'sout f
it
,whil
ecar i
ngforhis
bedr i
ddenwifeandsl owlygoingblindduetoamyst eri
ous
i
nj ury.
Thef ilm beginswithanexpl osi
ver ai
dwhichisquickl
y
fol
lowedbyacarchasewher eTongandhismen almost
catchupt ot hecr
ime- l
ord'
sgang.Theirpursui
tendsina
gut-wrenching,mul t
ipl
e-carcoll
isi
on; thi
s acci
dentis
revisi
ted twice, each t i
me exposing more shocki
ng
i
mpact sonthepeoplei nvol
ved.

Asi
anFi
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m Fest
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1
CENTERPI
ECEFI
LM

USA/NORTHKOREA|2009|80mins|Document
ary
Di
rectedbyN.
C.Hei
ki
n
KoreanandEngl
i
shw/Engl
i
shsubt
i
tl
es

Ahear
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reaki
nga n
dd amni
ngind
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mentofNor
thKorea
's
d
esp
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cl e
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housandswhohav
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na c
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cess.Andas i
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o pa
gandafi
lms,
KI
MJONGI L
IAi
sa nemot
iona
ll
ypowerf
ullo
o katanat
i
onin
ch
aos.
-St
eveNor
wo o
d

Asi
anFi
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CLOSI
NG NI
GHTFI
LM
I
PMAN
CHINA|2008|124mi ns|Drama/
Act
ion
Di
rect
edbyWi l
sonYip
St
arri
ngDonnieYen
Mandari
nw/Engl
ishsubti
tl
es

Ther e aret hree ways you can vi ew IP MAN:as a cont est

s.Winner
swalkawaywi t
habagofri
ce,butl
osersdon'
twal
k
histori
caldramaaboutt hel egendar ymar tialartsmast er away .Ipdoesnoti
mmediatel
yrespondt
othechall
enge;onl
ywhen
underwhom Br uceLeest udied,andhi sstrugglesdur ing thosecl
osestt
ohim ar
ethr
eateneddoeshet
akeupthefight
.
theJapaneseoccupat ionofChi na;asaf olk-herotaleofa
mar ti
alartsmast erwhost andsf oral lthi
ngsmodestand
honor abl
e,yetwhoi scapabl eoft akingonever ysoldierin
theJapanesear my;orasani ntenseDonni eYenf i
ght
fi
lm,wher etheact or '
sbestski l
lsar eputt owor kinbr utal,
technicall
yawesomef ightsequences( chor eographedby
actiondirectorSammoHung)t hatwi llhaveaudi ences
cheer i
ng.
Yen i s suitablyr estrained as t he quiet , poli
te and
extremely modestmar t
ialarts mast er,who i s wealthy
enought hathedoesnotent ert
aint hei deaoft aki
ngon
new st udent s,ort hreats by newcomer s who need t o
maket heirreputationsi nt hetownshi pofFoShan.I p' s
fami l
yisqui cklydispl acedwhent heoccupat ionoccur s;
forcedintomanual labor,hei sstil
l vi
ewedasabeaconof
hope t ot he l ocal s, especiall
y when a new ar my
commanderl ooksf orment ochal lengehi mi nmar t
ialarts

Thet erri
fi
csupporti
ngcasti ncludesAFFDf avorit
eSi monYam asIp'
s
bestfriend,anindustri
al
istwhoi sdeter
minedt oseesuccessdespit
e
thewar ,andLam KaTungasasympat heticlocalcopwhoactsasa
transl
atorfort
heJapanese.I PMANi sat echnical
lypoli
shedfi
l
mthat
summar i
zes it
s histori
calf acts whi
le giving abundanttime and
attent
iontothri
ll
ingmar t
ialartsacti
on.
-SteveNorwood

Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
i
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as | 15
 4BI
A
THAILAND|2008|120mi ns|Horr
or
Dir
ectedbyYoungyoothThongkont
hun,BanjongPi
sant
hanakun,
Parkpoom Wongpoom andPaweenPur i
ki
tpanya
Thaiw/Engl
ishsubt
it
l
es
Remembert hespookyst ori
esyouusedt otellatsl eepover s? The
onesyouandyourf ri
endswoul dwhi spert oeachot herunt ilever yone
wasf reakedoutandhi dingundert hebl ankets? 4BI Ai sal otliket hat
–onl ywi t
hmor eeye- gougi ng.Andf all
ingof fbalconi es.Ser iousl y
,
you’dt hinkpeopl ewoul dbemor ecar eful.Don’ ttheywat chmovi es?
Whi chi sexact l
yt hepoi nt .4BIAi saThaiant hologyf i
lmf orj aded,
seen- i
t-all horror fans – a ser i
es of t ales t hat poke open,
mean- spi ri
tedfunatt heAsi anhor rorconvent i
onst hathavesadl y
becomet r
iteandt ir
edovert helast15year s(compl etewi t
hsneer ing
references t ol ong-haired ghost gi r
ls), whilei ncor porating t he
crutchesand convent ionsofourmoder n wor l
d. Bul li
es!Text ing!
Bromance!FoodAl l
ergies!Al lthere,andpar tofthenast y,shr i
eki ng
fun.
In4BI A,r estl
essspi r
itsar en’tl
ookingf orsweet ,war m closur e.They
wantsomeonet oPAY,andar en’tpar ti
cularl
ychoosyaboutwhom.
Andi nt heend,i sn’
tthatwhatwe’ rel ookingfori nascar ymovi e? I f
brutal,unf air
,bl oodyt wistsoff atear en’tyourbag,youmi ghtbe
betterof fkeepingyourheadundert hebl anket sforthi sone.
–Cr ystalDecker -Nor wood

“I
fhorrorhas taught
us anythi
ng,it
’sthat
you just can’
tt r
ust
anyone. Not your
spouse,a doctor,or
eventhetownpriest
.”

Pr
esent
edbySt
aybr
idgeSui
tes
THESCREENATKAMCHANOD
THAILAND|2008|97mi ns|Horror
Dir
ectedbySongsakMongkol
thong
Thaiw/Engl
i
shSubti
tl
es
VI
EWERSARESTRONGLYURGEDTO CLOSELYWATCHANY
EMPTYSEATSDURI
NG THI
SSCREENING.

Whenamonkwar nsyouagai nstmeddl i

nginotherworldlyaff
air
s,you
shouldpayattent i
on.
Dr.Yut hknowst hel egendofaf i
lmt hatwasshownyear sbefor
eon
Kamchanod i sland,and how i tall
egedly beckoned ghost sinto our
world.Now heset soutt olocatethefil
m andre-creat
et hescreening.
Butwhatwi l
lbet heout come?
Aneer i
eandunset t
li
nghor rorfi
lm,THE SCREEN ATKAMCHANOD
uncover smysteriesbothpar anormalanddomest ic,asYut h,hi
sai l
ing
gir
lf
riendandt helocallock-
pickexpertseekoutthemeani ngsbehinda
l
ostf il
m,messagesscr awled on the backofa t orn page,and t he
medal l
ioncl
utchedbyabedr i
ddenol dman.
-SteveNor wood
20 | Asi
anFi
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 PresentedbyPanavisi
on
SOUTHKOREA|2007|1 17mi
ns|Hor
ror
/Fant
asy
Di
rectedbyYi m Pi
l-
Sung
St
ar r
ingJeong-myeongCheon
Koreanw/ Engl
ishsubt
i
tl
es

Writ
ten and di rect ed by Yi m Pi l
-sung—whose cl aust rophobi c 2005 out i
ng
ANTARCTI C JOURNALser vedupevi denceofapr omi singt alent —HANSEL
AND GRETELbegi nsbyi ntr
oduci ngust oki nd-hear t
edf ather-t
o- beEun- soo
(br
il
liantl
yessayedbyhandsomeup- and- comerCheonJeong- myeong) .Havi ng
ski
ddedof ft
hemot or wayont hewayt ovi sithishospital
izedmot her,ourl eading
manwakesupi nt hemi ddl
eofawoodl andand,af t
erfoll
owi ngapat hthrought he
for
est ,fi
ndsadesol atemansi on.Ther ehei si nt
roducedt ot hreechi ldren(one
gir
lofki ndergartenageandhersi sterandbr other,whobot hlookt obei nt heir
earl
yt eens)andt heirpai nfull
ypol ite“ parents,”whoi nsistoncooki nghi ma
sumpt uousf eastandpr epar i
ngabedf ortheni ght.However ,comet henext
morni ng,Eun-soof indst hathehasbeenal eftashor tnotef rom “ Mom andDad”
askingt hathet akecar eoft heki dsf ort henextweek( itseemst het woel ders
havehadt omakeasudden,emer gencyt r
ipintotown) .

USA|2009|92mi ns| Acti

on/Spl
att
er
Direct
edbyKurandoMi tsutake
Starri
ngKur
andoMi tsutake
JapaneseandEnglishw/ Engli
shsubti
t
les

A l ow-budget r evenge t ale wi th gr i

ndhouse f l
ourishes,
actor /
direct orKurandoMi tsutake'sfil
mf ol
lowst hebl oodyt rai
l of
awr ongedmanwhobat tl
essevenuni queassassi nstor each
thevi l
lainwhodest royedhislif
e.
BlindWol f( Mit
sutake)andTheDr ifterteam upt ohuntdown
Nat hanFl esher,amur deroust hugwhoi saboutt ober eleased
from theweakest -l
ookingjailcellint hewest( hei sablet owal k
out si
def reel yandbeatupguar dswi thimpuni ty.
..
becausehei s
EVI L).Fl esher'smer cenaryki l
lersar echar gedwi thtakingout
thest ranger swithnoname.Yetwi theachf i
ghtt hepai rget s
closert ot heirfi
nalencount erwi thFl esher,andt heaudi ence
get sa f urthergl i
mpse i ntot heirbl ood-soaked r easons f or
vengeance.
Fill
edwi t
hdi r
tycowboys,bi kini
-cladassassi ns,hypnot i
ct opless
samur ai, anci ent swor d mast ers, sni per s, f l
ashbacks,
showdowns,sever ed li
mbs and hel pfulnar rat i
on,SAMURAI
AVENGER:THE BLI ND WOLFi sf ort hemi dnight/exploit
ation
movi e-loveri nusal l.
-SteveNor wood
Asi
anFi
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i
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as | 21
Present
edbyLotus
SponsoredbyFuni
mat
ion
I
CHI
JAPAN|2008|120mi ns|Acti
on/
Fantasy
Direct
edbySoriFumihiko
Starri
ngHar
ukaAyase,Shi doNakamura
Japanesew/Engl
ishsubti
tl
es
From t
hedirect
orofPI
NG PONG andVEXI
LLEcomest
hisupdat
eoft
hel
egendar
y
Zatoi
chinar
rati
ve.

Ichii
sayoungbl i
ndwomanwhowander sthecount r
ysideasaGoze( musici
an),and
runsafoulofthedreadedBanki Gang.For tunatelyf
orher ,andf orthevil
lagersf
orced
todealwi t
ht hegang'scri
minalactivit
ies,I
chipossessesski ll
sf armoredeadl ythan
herabili
tytosingandplaytheshami sen(at radi
ti
onalthree-str
ingedJapanesegui t
ar)
.
The near -
sil
entand self
-suf
fi
cientI chiisaccompani ed in hert ravel
sbya t ragic,
would-besamur ainamedTouma.Whent hel ocalvi
ll
ager sdeci dethatToumai sthe
onerepeat edlysl
ayi
ngBankit hugs,t heypr oposeheacceptt hej obofbodyguar dto
thevil
lagemast er
.Whi lethepayl ookspr omi si
ng,ani mpendi ngBankiat t
ackisthe
l
astthingonTouma' smind.

ICHIi s a beaut
if
ull
y phot
ogr
aphed t
ale ofmist
aken i
denti
ti
es and r
edi
scover
ed
courage,withenoughswordpl
aytokeept heacti
on-
fi
lm af
i
cionadosengagedwhil
e
tel
l
ingitsdramati
cstory
.
-St
eveNorwood

Co-
present
edbyCr
owCol
l
ect
ionofAsi
anAr
t’
sfi
l
mAsi
a
Fansofthe2004pulpclassi
cSKYCAPTAI NANDTHEWORLDOF
K-
20(akaKaijinNijuMensoDen) TOMORROW wi llimmediat
elyfeelathome in Di
rectorShimako
JAPAN|2008|122mi ns|Acti
on/Fant
asy Sato'
sinspi
redK-20:LEGENDOFTHEMASK.Boast i
ngamassi ve
Direct
edbyShi makoSat o budgetby Japanese st
andards (
2 bi
ll
i
on yen,or20 mi ll
i
on US
dol
lar
s),Satodeli
versacompelli
ngfantasypi
ct
urer i
fewit
hact i
on
Starri
ngTakeshiKaneshir
o,TakakoMatsu
andenergy.
Japanesew/ Engl
ishsubti
tl
es
Seti nanal t
ernat e1949r eal
itywhereWor ldWarI Ineveroccur red,
K-20t akesplacei nt heficti
onalJapaneseci tyofTei t
o.Tei t
o'sski es
aredomi natedbyomi nouszeppel i
nsaswel lasot herhybr idflying
devices.Thef il
mi scent eredar oundt heageol dconf l
ictofcl ass
divi
de,andSat odoesagoodj obi nconveyingt hisvisual ly
.The
affl
uenteli
tehaveembr acedt heteslacoil
asasour ceofener gy,and
theirbri
ght
lyill
umi natedskyscr apersboastthistr
iumph.Ont heot her
hand,t hepr oletari
atmassesst r
ugglewithdai l
yexi stencei nt heir
l
ant ernli
thovel s.Pr oofoft he lar
ge budgetcan be seen i nt he
openingshot ,asasweepi ngf l
yovershowst hecityconst ructedwi t
h
CGIi nincredibledetail
.

K-20iscent eredar oundt hecharacterofHiki

chiEndo,(pl
ayedby
the popul
arTakeshiKaneshi ro)
,a br il
li
antcir
cus acrobatwho
perf
ormsni ghtlyforthel owerclassdenizens.Aft
eronesuchshow,
Endoi sappr oachedbyt hemysteriousl
ymaskedK- 20,whoof f
ers
Endocashi nexchangef orusinghi sacrobat
icski
l
lstoinfi
lt
rat
ea
pri
vateceremony .Itt urnsoutt obeaset up,whi
chforcesEndot o
huntdownK- 20andpr ovehi si
nnocence.
-LeeCar l
ton

22 | Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
ivalofDal
l
as
 USA|2008|80mi ns|Drama
Di
rectedbyMarkTran
St
arri
ngDavidHuynh,ChiPham,YenLy
Engl
ishandViet
namesew/Engli
shsubt
it
les
FILMMAKERMARKTRANWI LLBEIN
WILLBEI NATTENDANCE

Mar kTr anwasa19- year-oldSanJoseSt ateUni versi

t
yst udentwhenhewr ot
ethescreenplayforhisf eat
uredebutALL
ABOUTDAD( Audienceawar dwi nner,CinequestFF) ,basedonhi sexperi
encesgr owi
ngupi nalargeVi et
namesef amil
yin
Cal i
fornia.Themai nchar act
erTy ,i
sbasedl ooselyuponhi mself–abi ol
ogymaj orabouttogiveuphi sstudiestopursue
fi
lmmaki ng(a.k.
a.thewor stthingaVi etnamesef athercouldeverhearf rom ason).
NewcomerChi Pham stealstheshowast hepat ri
archoftheDof ami l
y,t
heheadf i
gurewhoonl yseeshar dwork,Cathol
ici
sm,
highereducat ion,andl oyalt
ytof ami l
yast heonl ywayt ohappi nessandsuccessi nlif
e.ButMr .Doi sabouttof i
ndoutthe
i
nnerpassi onsanddr eamsofhi sf ourchildr en,andhi sworldisabouttounr avel
.Theendr esultofthi
sof t
enintensefamil
y
dramai satti
mesal sohi l
ari
ous,touchi ng,andhear t
breakingasMr .Docomest oter
mswi t
hhisdisappointmentsandreali
zes
hemustl ear
nt oaccepthischi l
drenast heyt r
ulyorr i
sklosingthem.
Itisthef amil
iarstoryoftradit
ionver susmoder nit
y,butthef il
m nevercomesof fasdidact
icorheavy-handedandMr .Tran’
s
fi
rstfil
mi safi
nepor tr
aitofaVi etnameseAmer icanfamilyjusttr
yingtokeepupwi t
htheti
mes.
–MyeHoang

“
Anot
hercr
azy-
goof
ycomedyf
rom t
heguywhobr
oughtyouEXECUTI
VEKOALAandCALAMARIWRESTLER”

It
’
sashamet hattheUSt r
ansl
ati
onforNEKO RAMEN TAI SHO isPUSSY
SOUP,becauset hatt i
tl
einspi
resenti
rel
ytoomuchgi ggl
ing. Sti
l
l,i
t’
sa
bett
erti
tl
ethanRECESSI ONCATCONTEMPLATESSUI CIDE,whichwould
charact
eri
zethefirsthal
fofthi
swacky,schi
zo,based-on-a-mangamovie,
populat
edwithcatpuppetsandthehumanswhol ovethem.

Har dt
obelievethatamovi ecenter
edoncuddl ytoyswoul dhavesuchl of ty
themes --fame,shame,daddy i ssues,a sear ch f
oroneness wi tht he
univer
se- - butit’
sallhere,i
nShakespear anamount s. Taisho,ayoung
cat-modelwhocannotl iveupt ohisfat
her’slevelofcommer cialsuccess,
runsawayf r
om homeandf i
ndshisrel
uctantcall
ingasanoodl echef .Atfirst
adismal f
ail
ure,Taishol
earnsthemysteri
esofr amenandbui l
dsaf oll
owing,
onlytofi
ndhi mselfoncemor eatoddswi t
hanI ronChef-styl
ehot shotwho
hassetupshopcl oseby.Canyouguesswhoi tis? Betyoucan!

It
’
sf unny
,it
’
szen,i
thaspuppet
sinexi
stent
i
al cr
isi
s.Comefort
hecut
eness,
stayfort
heangst
.NEKO RAMENTAI SHO isabowlofcr
azyfun.
-
-Cr
yst
alDecker
-Nor
wood

Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
i
valofDal
l
as | 23
Sponsor
edbyFuni
mat
ion
MUSHI
SHI
JAPAN|2006|131mi ns|Fant
asy
Direct
edbyKatsuhir
oOtomo
Starri
ngJoeOdagiri
,NaoOmori
Japanesew/Engli
shsubti
tl
es
Katsuhi ro Ot omo i s bestknown f orhi s ani mat i
on pr oject s,i ncl
udi ng
segment s oft he ant hologies MEMORI ES,NEO- TOKYO and ROBOT
CARNI VAL,t hef eat ur
enar r
at i
veSTEAMBOY andt her enownedcl assic
AKI RA.Wi thMUSHI SHI,heshi f
tsgear swi t
hal yrical,live-actionadapt ation
ofYukiUr ushi bara' scomi cser iesoft hesamename.
Amushi shii sasor toftravel l
ingshamanwhoempl oysr emedi esagai nst
dif
ferentf orms ofmushi ,spi ritcr eatur
es t hatat t
ack t he human body ,
causi ngal lmannerofi ll
nessesanddi sabili
ti
es.Whenwef i
rstmeetGi nko,
hest opsatal odgewher esever alresident shavemyst er i
ousl yl osttheir
hear i
ngi noneear .Thel odge- keeperal sor equest sGi nko'shel pwi t
hher
granddaught er,whoi sbesetbymushisoi ntenselyshehasgr ownl i
ttl
e
horns.
Themushi shi'sst oryal t
ernat eswi t
ht hatofYoki ,anor phanedboywho
l
ear nsoft he mushif r
om a myst icalwoman wi th striking gr eyhai rver y
similartoGi nko's.
Otomot akeshi st i
mewi ththest oryandut il
i
zesbeaut ifulcamer aworkand
simpl e butcapt ivating effects. Af tercreat i
ng sever albl acklycomi cand
acti
on- basedwor ksthatdel vei ntosci ent
ifi
candt echnol ogical concept s,he
hassummonedupar everentmi xtureofchar acters,r elationshi psandl ore
thatmakef oramodest ,quietpor tr
ayalofpur ef antasy .
-St eveNor wood

Sponsor
edbyGover
nmentI
nfor
mat
i
onOf
fi
ce(
GIO)
,R.
O.C
CAPENO.7
TAIWAN|2008|129mi ns|Romanti
cComedy
Direct
edbyWEITe- Sheng
Starri
ngVan,TANAKAChi e,Min-
Hsi
ung
Taiwanesew/Engl
i
shsubtit
les

CAPE NO.7por t
rayst her iseofasmal ltownr ockbandandt he
discover y ofa cache ofundel i
vered l ove l ett
ersf r
om 1940' s
Japanese- occupied Taiwan t hatbecome t he cat alystofanot her
i
nt er
-culturalloveaf f
air70year sl
ater
.Thef ilm beginsi n1945wi t
h
theext r
adi ti
onofaJapaneset eacherfrom Tai wanatt heendoft he
JapaneseCol onialperi
od.I nsevenunf or gettablypassi onatelet
ters,
theteacherr evealshispr eviouslyundecl ar
edl ovet oaTai wanese
womanhemustl eavebehi nd,f or
cedt obesepar atedbyt heendof
the war . Pr ovidi
ng a l avish present ati
on ofSout h Taiwan' s
breathtakingscener ythr oughi tstop-notchci nemat ography ,CAPE
NO.7al soexpl orestheunwaver ingpur suit
sofmusi c,dreamsand
l
ove i ntert
wi ned wi t
ht hemesofgener at i
onaldi ff
erences,cul tural
diversit
yandsmal ltownl if
e.

CAPE NO.7i sthehighestgrossi

ngf i
lm everproducedinTaiwan
surpassi
ng evenAng Lee’sLUST:CAUTI ON AND CROUCHI NG
TIGERAND HI DDEN DRAGON andi soni tswayt obecomingthe
highest
-gr
ossing fi
l
m ever i n Tai wanese box- of
fi
ce histor
y
surpassi
ngeventheinter
nati
onalblockbusterTI
TANI C.

24 | Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
ivalofDal
l
as
 100 FAMI
LYI
NC.
PHI LI
PPINES|2008|1 15mins|Dr
ama USA/CHINA|2007|53mins|Document
ary
Direct
edbyChrisMar
tinez Di
rectedbyEmil
yTi
ng,HelenJen
Starri
ngEugeneDomingo,Tessi
eTomas Engl
ish
Tagalogw/Engl
i
shsubtit
les

Descr i
bing Chr is Marti
nez'del i
cately-nuanced f i
lm as a Whenf il
mmakerEmi lyTingwasaskedbyherf athert o
Fil
ipi
no BUCKET LI ST is pat entl
y unf air,butper haps returnt oAsiaandt akeovert hef ami l
ybusi ness,she
i
nevitable. Yellow Post -i
t notes f i
gur e pr omi nently as didn’texactl
yknow how t osay‘ no.’Pr omisingher self
ambitiouscar eerwomanJoyce( Myl eneDi zon)r esol utel
y shewoul dtryitoutf orjustoneyear ,shet r
adedi nher
wraps up herear t
hly af
fai
rs afterlear ning thatshe has fri
ends,herf il
mmaki ngpur suits,andherl oveofNew
i
ncurabl ecancer .Sheswear sherpeppybestf r
iendRuby Yor kforagr uelingnewl i
feasCEO i ntraini
ngi noneof
HongKong’ smostnot ori
oust oycompani es.
(EugeneDomi ngo)tosecrecyast heyindul geinaser i
esof
Twoyear slater ,she’sst i
llthere–wi thnoendi nsi ght.
l
ong- delayed mi norpleasures,i n st
r i
king cont r
astt ot he From pi cki
ngupt hesl ackl eftbehi ndbyar unaway
globe-tr
otti
ngf antasyadvent uresonemi ghtexpect .What brothert osteer ingasi nkingcompanyont hebr inkof
Joycedi dn'tcounton,t hough,wast heout pouringofl ove bankr uptcy
,Emi l
yfindsher selfgettingmor eandmor e
andaf fecti
onf rom fri
endsandf ami l
ywhent heyl earnt he stucki nal ifeshedi dn’tchoosef orher self.Buther
tr
uth,mostnot abl yherwidowed,st eel-will
edmot her( Tessie biggestchal lengeyeti si nt ryi
ngt or econnectwi t
han
Tomas) .Noonewant st oseeJoycemar chof fsilentlyand absent ee f
at herwhose passi on forhi sbusi nessf ar
aloneintothatl onggoodnight.100wi l
lmakeyoul aughand outshineshi sr elati
onshi pwi thhisf amily.
maymakeyoucr y,yetaboveal li
tmakesyoust opandt hi
nk Inanat t
emptt ocomet oter mswi thhernewl i
fe,Emi ly
aboutt het hi
ngst hatyout reasuremost .Chancesar e,i t
'
s turnst hecamer aonher selfandherf amilyandt he
notPost -i
tnotes. resultisani ncr ediblyhonestandatt i
mesbi t
tersweet
fami l
y portr
ai tt hatexami nes the pr i
ce we end up
-Pet erMar ti
n
payingwhenbusi nessandf ami l
ybecomeone.

881
SI
NGAPORE|2007|105mi ns|Dr
ama/
Musi
cal
Di
rect
edbyRoystonTan
St
arri
ngYuwuQi,MindeeOng
Mandari
nw/Engl
i
shsubti
tl
es
Twobestf ri
ends,LI
TTLEPAPAYAandBI G PAPAYA,dream
ofescapi ng t
he drear
iness oft heireveryday l
i
ves and
becomingst ar
soft heglit
teri
ng,f l
amboyantanduni quel
y
Singaporean musicalshowcase known as Get ai(Song
Stage),anannualconcertfesti
valperfor
medf orspi
ri
tsand
ghosts.

Starti
ng outt he si
ster
s st ruggl
et o make a mar k,but
determinedtosucceedt heyappeal tothemagi calGoddess
ofGet aiwhogr ant
stheirwi shbutwarnst hem oftheprice.
Theirsuccessbindsthem toobeyt herulesofGet aiandone
rul
ef orbi
dsthem fr
om everl ovinganyman.Bl essedbyt he
Goddess,t hePapayaSi st
er sri
setostardom,al lt
hewhi le
battl
ing heart
breaki
ng per sonaltragedies and theirevil
ri
vals,theDurianSist
ers.

Singapore's off
ici
al submi ssi
on to the Best Forei
gn
LanguageFi lm Cat
egor yofthe2008AcademyAwar dsand
al ocal,record br
eaking box off
i
ce sensat
i
on,881 isa
magi cal
, hear t wr enching, singi
ng and danci ng
extravaganza.
Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
i
valofDal
l
as | 25
 JeffAdachi(THE SLANTED SCREEN)i saU. S.Public
Defender, and in his spar e ti
me makes i nti
mat e
documentari
esaboutthepat hofAsi
an-Americanactorsin
pre-and post-WWIIAmer i
ca. In YOU DON' T KNOW
JACK:THE JACK SOO STORY,hef ocusesonasi ngle
manwhowasnotonl yasuccessi nbothmusi candf i
lm,
butmadest ri
desinbreakingthestereot
ypesf orminori
ty
actor
sduringtheeraprecedingtheCivi
lRightsMovement .
Pr
esent
edbybi
gInkPR
BornGor oSuzukiandrai
sedinCalif
orni
a,JackSoowasa
successf
ulnightcl
ub si
ngerfor20 yearsbef orefindi
ng YOUDON’
TKNOW JACK
broaderfame inthe 1961 fi
l
m producti
on ofFLOWER THEJACKSOO STORY
DRUM SONG.Thi sledtoyearsofappearancesinmovies USA|2009|60mi ns|Document
ary
and tel
evisi
on, culmi
nati
ng i
nt he f
our-yearrun ofthe Di
rectedbyJef
fAdachi
popularsit
com BARNEY MI LLER,wher ehepl ayedDet .
Engl
ish
Sgt.NickYemana.Ther ol
eal l
owedhimt oshowcasea
tr
ademar kdeadpansenseofhumor .

YOU DON' T KNOW JACK i sal ovingportr

aitofaman
whoseconf i
denceandsuccesswenthand- i
n-handwith
hiseffor
tst
obringdignit
ytotherol
eshepl ayed. Through
i
nt er
viewswit
hf amil
y,fr
iendsandpeer s,aswel lascli
ps
fr
om hi smanyr ol
es,thefil
misat rueAmer icansuccess
story
.
-SteveNor wood

STORYOFSPI
RITS
USA/VIETNAM |2006|60mins|Documentar
y InViet
nam,l egendhasi tt
hataper sonwhodi esf arf
rom homewi l
l
Di
rectedbyTi
enNguyen wandert heearthforeverunti
ltheyarecommemor at
ed…unt i
lthei
r
Vi
etnameseandEnglishw/
Engli
shsubt
it
les stor
yistold.STORYOFSPI RITSdocument sTienNguyen'sescape
fr
om Vietnam wit
hherf at
herandhert hreesi
bl
ingswhi l
ehermot her
andunbor nsist
erstayedbehindfol
lowingthefallofSaigonin1975.

Thirt
y year s afterherdi sappear ance,a mot her'
s ghostr eturns,
channel ed t hrough her husband' s new wi f
e. Thi s sudden
appear ancehowever ,leadsherdaught ert oquestionherl if
elong
beli
eft hathermot herabandonedherchi l
dren. Asherquestionstur n
todoubt ,thedaught erembar ksonaj ourneyt oshatteryear sof
famil
ydecept ionandsi l
ence.Shet racesthepat hofawomant hat
shehasneverknown,f rom theirweal t
hyl
if
ei nSaigon,to1975when
the fami l
yf l
ed t oAmer ica withouthermot her,to hermyst eri
ous
disappear anceatsea,andf inally,toherfather'
sstruggleli
vingwi th
theghostofhi sdeadwi fe.Usingi n-dept
hintervi
ewswi thherf amily
i
nCal if
ornia,Mi chigan,New Jer seyandul timatel
yVi etnam,shei s
ablet opiecet ogetheronest ory ,butseveralconclusions.

26 | Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
ivalofDal
l
as
 Pr
esent
edbyPanavi
si
on
OLDPARTNER
SOUTHKOREA|2009|77mi ns|Documet
ary
Di
rectedbyLeeChung-
Ryoul
Koreanw/Engl
i
shsubt
it
l
es
First-ti
medi rectorLeeChung- Ryoulmanagest ohavei tbothways
witht hedocument aryOLDPARTNER:hehasl ovinglyphot ogr aphed
theSout hKor eancount ryside,gather i
ngal lthet exturesandcol orsof
theseasonswhi l
et elli
ngar i
ch,hear tbr eakingnar rativeofanagi ng
farmerandhi soxdur i
ngt hei rfi
nalyear st ogether .
Mr .Leei s79andai li
ng,yethecont inuest otoillong,di ff
icul
tdayson
hisf armi naSout hKor eanval l
ey.Wi thabadl eg,headachesanda
gener aldi
sdai nf ormoder nt echnology ,feedandpest icides,hewor ks
the l and in a seemi ngly endl ess cycl e wi th onlyt he hel p ofhi s
l
ong- suff
eri
ngwi feanda40- year
-oldox,whoseheal thi snobet t
er
thanhi sown.Oxent endt olive15year s,thelocal ssay ,butMr .Lee' s
oxsl owl ytrudgesal ong,haul i
ngfir
ewood,pl owi ngcr opsandcar t
ing
Mr .
Leebackandf orthbet weent heirhomeandt hef i
el ds.
Whet herasi mpl eshotoft woshoesatt heedgeofaf ield,anoxsl owly
wal kingpastapi cketlinei nt heci t
yort heel eganceofr ainfalland
snow agai nsthi llsandmi st-coveredmount ains,OLD PARTNER i s
stocked wi th a st eadysuppl yofbeaut if
uli mages. Embr acing i t
s
themesoff ami l
y ,fri
endshi p,ol dageandt hei nevitableendt oal l
cycles,t hefilmi st hought f
ulanddeepl yaf fecti
ng.
-St eveNor wood

Ifyouhaveevercr eatedacr udeorigamiswanorcr aneasachi ld,be

preparedf orajaw- droppi
ngexperienceexami ningt
hehyper -detail
ed
world ofpaperf ol
ding. The onlyrule:you mustbegi n wi
th a singl
e
squar eofpaper.Butf r
om thi
sverysimplestart
ingpoint,ar
ti
stscr eat
e
Present
edbyTexasInst
rument
s
bri
ll
iantl
y complex facsimi
les f
rom allaspects ofnature,as wel las
USA|2008|56mi ns|Documentar
y
abstractmodelsthatrivalt
hebestofmoder nart
.
Di
rectedbyVanessaGould
Engli
sh
BETWEEN THE FOLDS t akes a l ook att he many i nternat
ional
practi
ti
onersofpaperf ol
ding,andt hei
rvar i
edandf ascinati
ngcr eat
ions.
Whatseemsl i
keadecept ivelysi mpleartformi sactual
lyahighlysought
aft
ert oolfora var iet
y off i
elds,including educat i
on,mat hemat i
cs,
engineeri
ng,technologyandsci ence.Ther esul
tsineachoft heseareas
arebot hsurpri
singandbr eath-taki
ng. VanessaGoul dhast akenthe
i
ntri
cacy and del i
cacy ofor igamiand made a hi ghly engaging and
i
nspiri
ngdocument ary
.
-SteveNor wood

Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
i
valofDal
l
as | 27
 Pr
esent
edbyUSAFi
l
m Fest
i
val
TANDOORILOVE
I
NDIA|2008|92mi ns|Comedy
Di
rect
edbyOliverPaulus
St
arri
ngLavi
niaWilson,Vi
jayRaaz
German/
Engli
sh/Hi
ndiw/Engli
shsubt
i
tl
es

Muchli
ketheclayovenfr
om whicht
hefil
m deri
vesit
sname,TANDOORILOVEheat sthi
ngsupwit
hit
severymanr omant
ic
t
aleandwildl
yamusi ngdancesequences.Ifsonglyri
cssuchas“cheeseandmil
kcanbemagi caltoo”and“ chocol
ate
makesallt
hewomenmel t”putasmil
eonyourf ace,thenpr
epar
etofeastonthi
sBoll
ywood-
by-
way-of
-Switzer
landcomedy .

Thefil
miscenteredaroundthechar acterofSonja,whoappearstobegl i
dingthroughli
f
ewithoutmuchthought
.Worse,her
boyfr
iendhasjustannouncedt heirengagementt ofr
iendsandfami
lywi thout,youknow..
.pr
oposingtoherfi
rst
.Wi t
hthe
fi
l
mingofanewBol lywoodf
ilmint hescenicmount ai
nsi
decomesper sonalchefRajah,whocan'thelpbutbr
eakintosong
anddanceaftermeet i
ngSonja.Thef i
lm evolvesint
oabi zar
rel
ovetr
iangle,withSonjahavi
ngtodecidewhethershewants
alif
eofsecur
ity,orsomethi
nginfinit
elymor espicy.

WhereTANDOORILOVEr eall
yseparat
esit
sel
ffr
om tr
adit
ionalBol
l
ywoodf i
l
msi sthr
oughtheuseofit
sSwi ssbackdr
op.
TANDOORILOVEmakest hemostofi t
sst
arkcontr
ast
s,withthetr
adi
ti
onalIndi
ansarisappear
ingkal
ei
doscopicagai
nst
thepr
ist
inemount
ainset
ti
ng.Thejuxt
aposi
ti
onworksperf
ectl
y,andwil
lst
ickwit
hfil
mgoerslongaft
ert
hecredit
srol
l.

Writ
er/Dir
ectorOli
vi
erPaulusf oundhisinspi
rat
ionforthefi
lminIndia'
sdecadeslonghi
st
oryoff
il
minginSwitzer
land,
(
Indianfil
m crewsshootmoremovi esher
eyear l
ythanthei
rindi
genouscount
erpar
ts)
.TANDOORILOVEr unsabreezy92
minutes,andliket
hebestdishes,wil
ll
eaveyoucr avi
ngmore.
-LeeCar l
ton

It’
stooeasytosayWRI TTEN BYi saf i
l
m aboutdeat
h
andr emembrance.Oni t
sface,itmightseem t
hatway:
we’reintr
oduced t
ot he st
ory wit
h mor t
alst
ruggl
ein
everydir
ecti
on:awomanonal edge,acaraccident
,a Pr
esent
edbySt
aybr
idgeSui
tes
famil
yinhopelessgr
ief.
WRI
TTENBY
Quickly
,though,itbecomesclearthatWRITTEN BY, CHINA|2008|124mi ns|Drama/
Fant
asy
both writ
ten and di
rect
ed by longt
ime Johnni
e To Di
rectedbyWaiKa-Fai
screenwri
terWaiKa- Fai,is a movi
e aboutwishes, St
arri
ngLauChing-Wan
dreams, delusi
on, and the desperat
e search for Cantonesew/
Engli
shsubti
tl
es
happinessinthef
aceofutterl
oss.

Soundweepy? I tis.WRI TTEN BYi sn’taneasyfil

m.
By t urns gor geous, funny, exhi l
arat
ing and I magineaworldwhereli
fe’
stragediescanbel i
ter
all
yrewri
tten,
soul
-wrenching,this medi
tati
on on love and famil
y whereghostscookyourf
avori
temeal s,wherel
ovedr i
vesyout o
evokesstrongfeeli
ngsandt earsbot
h–whi chcanbe pl aythesamesongeverynight,andadogi sn’
tadog,butal ost
goodforthesoul,whendonewel l. chil
d. Whereahome,l osttosadness,canbet r
ansport
ed–
chairs,bedandal l–t
oanew,br i
ghtlocation,flyi
ngonthepower
And WRI TTEN BY i s mast erf
ull
y done. Led by the ofdr eams.
i
ncompar able Lau Chi ng-Wan,( who conveys mor e
emot i
on simply sit
ti
ng i n a chai rthan mostact ors WRI TTEN BYi smorethanal it
tl
ebi tmagi cal,anddeli
ber
atel
y
manageatf ul
l-
pitchmonol ogue),thisisastoryabout bl ursthelinesofwhich“st
ory”i
sr ealandwhi chisimagi
ned.In
stori
es. Whenacarcr ashl eavesaf ami
lywithouta t heend,i tdoesn’tmatt
er.Inapl acewher ewor dsareusedto
father
,thebli
ndeddaught erbeginsanoveli nwhicht he reinventlives,t
odenyl oss,andt or econnectwi t
hthosewho
fatherl
ives,andther emai ningmot herandsibli
ngsar e bringyouj oy–theonlythi
ngthatmat tersislove.
ghosts,inhabi
ti
nghi shome. I nt urn,t
hegr i
evi
ngdad
(nowbl i
ndaswel l)wri
teshi sownst or
y,wheretheylive --CrystalDecker
-Norwood
andhepasseson.

28 | Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
ivalofDal
l
as
Pr
esent
edbyPanasoni
cAvi
oni
csCor
por
ati
on
FOREVERENTHRALLED ZhangZi yi (mostnot ablef orherbr eakoutr ole
CHINA|2009|147mins|Drama/Bi
opi
c
i
nCROUCHI NG TI GER,HI DDENDRAGON)
Di
rect
edbyChenKaige playsan admi ri
ng f el
low oper a singer– a
St
arri
ngLeonLai
,ZhangZiyi
,SunHongl
ei woman posi ng as a man onst age – who
Mandari
nw/Engl
i
shsubti
tl
es begi nsar omant i
caf f
airwi thMeipl ayedby
Leon Lai( FALLEN ANGELS) . She poses
anot hert hreatt o Mei ’scar eer-a possi ble
Chinesef i
lmmakerChenKai ger etur
nst ot hegenr e distractionf r
om hi swor kandhi sdemandi ng
thatfir
stbr oughthim cr i
ti
calaccl aim –t heBei ji
ng fans,manager s,andespeci allyhi sdevot ed
Oper a.Li keFAREWELLMYCONCUBI NE( 1993) , wi feandf ami ly.Theent irecastdel iverssol i
d
FOREVER ENTHRALLED i s an opul entper i
od per formances,whi l
eLaiandZi yinot iceably
drama aboutt he tr
ue st ory ofMeiLanf ang,a wentt hroughPeki ngoper at rai
ningt omast er
Peking oper a legend whose f ame spr ead thedel i
cat ebodyl anguageoft heoper a.
wor l
dwi de. Even Char l
ie Chapl i
n and Ser gei FOREVER ENTHRALLED i sa f ascinating
Eisensteinf i
lmedhimi ntheear l
y1900s.Asaman biopi c abouta man r egar ded as a gr eat
playi
ng a woman onst age,cr it
icsof t
en saidt hat nat i
onalt reasur eandyetwhoyear nst obe
Meiwasmor efemininethanar ealwomanandso or dinaryatt i
mes. Thef i
lmi sal sost rongly
hisr oles and pi tch per f
ectvoi ce mesmer ized tradi t
ional,el egantandwhatmostaudi ences
audiences. woul dexpectf rom ahi storical Chineseper iod
Thef il
m begi nsinhi sear l
yadol escenceasMei piece.At147mi nutes,t herei snoshor tageof
mustr ivalwi t
havet eranact or,inaki ndof“ battle” dazzl i
ngaut hent i
ccost umes,gor geousset s
ofthemusi cals,andemer gest hevi ctor.Hi sfame andexqui sit
ei nteri
orl i
ght i
ngevoki ng1930s
spreads qui ckl
y but di saster set si n as t he Chi na. Hi sl atestwor k may nothave t he
Japanesei nvadeManchur i
aandMei ’
sr ef
usalt o compl exities and emot i
onal i mpact of
singuponr equestoft heJapaneset hreatenshi s FAREWELL,buti tcertainl
yseemsl ikeKai ge
careerandf amily
. i
sbackt ot hef i
lmmaki nghedoesbest .
–MyeHoang

Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
i
valofDal
l
as | 29
 Pr
esent
edbybi
gInkPR
KABEI
:OURMOTHER
JAPAN|2008|133mi ns|Drama
Direct
edbyYojiYamada
Starri
ngSayur
iYoshi
naga,TadanobuAsano
Japanesew/Engli
shsubti
tl
es

The74t hf i
lmf rom YojiYamada( TWI LIGHT SAMURAI )
depictst hestrongbondbet weenamot herandherf ami l
y
duringWWI I
.Seti nTokyoi n1940,t hepeacef ull
ifeofthe
NogamiFami ly suddenl y changes when t he father ,
Shiger u,isarrestedandaccusedofbei ngaCommuni st.
Hiswi feKayowor ksfranticall
yfrom mor ni
ngt onightto
maint ainthehousehol dandbr inguphert wodaught ers
wit
ht hesuppor tofShi geru'ssisterHi sakoandShi geru's
ex-studentYamazaki ,butherhusbanddoesnotr eturn.
WWI Ibr eaksoutandcast sdar kshadowsont heent i
re
count ry, but Kayo st il
lt ri
es t o keep her cheer ful
determi nati
on,andsust ai
nst hef amilywi thherlove.Thi s
i
s an emot i
onaldr ama ofa mot herand an et ernal
message f orpeace.( Of f
ici
alSel ecti
on Ber l
inIntlFi l
m
Fest i
val)
-MyeHoang

30 | Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
ivalofDal
l
as
N
AIM
N
AA
IMT
A
TI
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anFi
l
I
FO
I
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eoutoft
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hi
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.Curat
indouti
edbySam Cheng(
nthi
spr
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ogr
am dedi
egoAsi
anFi
cat
l
edent
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i
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r
val
)
el
.
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hemagi
calar
tofani
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esent
edbyt
he

**
MatureCont
ent Tot
alRunningTime:86mi
n

AGAINSTTHEGRAI N
Di
rect
or:Kevi
nKolodi
nsky|USA|2min.|Video|2008
Ahaplesskar
atef
ight
ermeetshi
sbi
ggestandbaddestopponent
.

NADALVS.ALI EN
Di
rector:TakHoonKim |Kor
ea|3min.|Vi
deo|2008
I
nternati
onalt
enni
ssuperst
arRaf
aelNadalbat
tl
es"
Nadal
tr
on"i
nabal
l
s-
t
o-the-wall
sfi
ghtf
orgl
obaldomi
nati
on.

ALIENABDUCTI ON
Dir
ect
or:Davi
dHan|USA|2min.|Vi
deo|2008
Whathappenswhenahungr
yspaceal
i
enatt
emptst
ocow-
ti
pat
hree-
eyedmutantbovi
ne?

MAGICICAD
Dir
ect
or:Benet
tKim |USA|3min.|Vi
deo|2007 AWKWARD
Amagicalci
cadaatt
emptst
owinthesympat
hyofaboywhohas
capt
uredit
.
SWI MMING MOON
SNOW DAY Dir
ector
:NahomiMaki|USA|4mi n.|Video|2008
Di
rect
or:Ki
m Hazel|USA|2mi n.|Vi
deo|2008 Abeingisdri
ventomadnessbytheful
lmoon,butthendi
scover
sasensi
-
Canahelpl
essT-r
exdi nosaursavehimsel
ffr
om t
hei
mpendi
ngdoom of t
ive,beaut
if
ulandsur
realwor
ldwit
hin.
t
heIceAgewithonlyonesock?
SPORTSANDDI VERSI ON
AWKWARD Di
rect
or:Bum Lee|USA|4mi n.|Vi
deo|2006
Dir
ector
:CesarKur i
yama|USA|3mi n.|Vi
deo|2004 Aseri
esofshortexper
iment
alani
mati
onthatr
eint
erpr
etst
het
hemesof
Threefr
iendsenjoyanightofdebaucher
yoversomebever
agesunt
ilt
hei
r Eri
kSati
e’spi
anocompositi
ons"SPORTSETDI VERTISSEMENTES
humil
iat
ingdiscover
y. (
1914).
"

ABRIDGED KETCHUP
Di
rect
or:Ar
junRi
han|USA|4min.|Vi
deo|2007 Dir
ect
or:WenchungLu|USA|7mi n.|Vi
deo|2008
Aromanti
ccomedysetont
heGol
denGateBridge. Ayoungboyandhisfami
lyr
esor
ttothedarksi
deinor
dert
ogr
owbi
gger
andbett
ert
omatoes.
APPLE/BIRD&THEBEE" AGAIN&AGAI N"
Dir
ect
or:DennisLi
u|USA|3min.|Video|2008 PREKI SSTORI CTIMES
Tonsofcoolwayst
ouseaMac,settothesongof'
Agai
n&Agai
n'byt
he Dir
ector:LeonardoMatsuda|USA|5mi n.|Vi
deo|2008
Bir
d&t heBee. Alovablecavemanf i
nall
ymeet shi
sdream cavewoman,onl
ytof
indamor
e
evol
vedandgr eedyadversar
ystandi
nginhisway.
BATTLEOFTHEALBUM COVERS
Dir
ect
or:Rohi
tashRao&Abr aham Spear|USA|3mi
n.|Vi
deo|2006 YELLOW STI CKYNOTES
Famousanimatedal
bum coversf
ightt
othedeat
h! Direct
or:JeffChibaSt ear
ns|USA|6mi n.|Video|2007
2,300drawings,4x6i nchyell
owsti
ckynotesandablackinkpen–asmal
l
HALLUCII i
nternalrefl
ect
iononone’ srol
easanar t
istmanif
est
sint
oadiscussi
on
Di
rect
or:Goo-ShunWang|USA|4mi n.|Vi
deo|2006 aboutmaj orpoli
ti
calandenvironment
alcri
ses.
Adrunkenmani st
rappedandat
tempt
stoescapeoutofanEscher
-esque
worl
dofendlessst
air
s. SHOOTI NG STAR
Dir
ector:RyanChen|USA|3min.|Vi
deo|2008
THEPOSSUM Afrust
ratedboymakesabi
gmist
akeandsearchesf
orawayt
oret
urn
Di
rect
or:Chr
isChoy|USA|5min.|Vi
deo|2005 home.
Astor
yaboutanappl
efar
merandaclept
opossum.
MEATDAYS
THEMOUSETRAP Di
rect
or:JoeHsieh|Tai
wan|12mi n.|Video|2006
Di
rect
or:WoonHan|Kor
ea|6mi n.|Vi
deo|2007 I
nachaot i
ctimeofmeneati
ngmen,AhOr risaprost
it
utewhoexchanges
Abutt
erf
lyset
sof
fachai
nreact
i
onofchaosinasubwayt
rai
nful
lofmi
ce meateverydayt
obringf
oodforherchil
dandasi ckhusband.
&men.
JOSIE'SLALALAND
Dir
ector
:YibiHu|UK|4mi n.|Vi
deo|2007
Anabstractpi
ecedepi
cti
ngadyingl
it
tl
egir
l'
slastwor
ds,basedonat
rue
account
.

32 | Asi
anFi
l
m Fest
ivalofDal
l
as